Many frequently eaten fish will soon disappear. The problem is the warming of the oceans due to climate change, which hinders their ability to adapt and survive.
A new study shows that several species of commercial fish, including anchovies, herring and sardines, are threatened with extinction due to climate change. The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature Climate Chang.
As the temperature of the world’s oceans rises faster than ever, fish degrade rapidly and die in the struggle for survival. The authors of the study note that the situation is dangerous not only for fish populations, but also for humans. The problem of climate change will also exacerbate the food crisis – commercial species that people are used to eating will become rare or even extinct in the coming decades, scientists explain.
Water heating is a double blow for fish, as they not only force them to evolve to a smaller size, but also reduce their ability to move to a more favorable environment.
The study, conducted by Chilean and British scientists, used statistical analysis of a large set of data on globally distributed fish species to study their evolution over the past 150 years. million years.
It focuses on Clupeiforms, a very diverse group of fish that live around the world. It includes such important fish species as anchovies, Atlantic herring, Japanese sardines, Pacific herring and American sardines. However, the results are important for all species.
Until now, fish have had to deal only with the maximum increase in the average ocean temperature by about 0.8 ° C per millennium. This is well below the current warming rate of 0.18 ° C for the decade since 1981.